Prince of Albion
by Alexandra Rider
Summary: AU story! Albion has fallen to Nimueh and her great Army of the Damned. As Prince Merlin flees his Kingdom on the day of his coronnation, all hope seems lost in the chaos of battle. He must now turn to Camelot for help to fight back. Will he succeed?
1. Chapter 1

_** A/n: **_*****Dated :** 03/06/2010*: **Well here it is, my first Merlin story!

**Soundtrack**: Synchronity - Yuki Makino ** OR ** Doctor who OST: Doomsday [These are the two soundtracks that I listened to as i wrote/re-wrote the chapter]

**Disclaimer:** I dont own Merlin! (this is also the only time i'm going to be posting the disclaimer:) )

*****Edited on: **26/03/2012***

Enjoy!

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**Prologue**

Screams filled the air. They penetrated the very walls of the grand castle that loomed over the people. The sky was tainted a bloody red and smoke rose high above the battlements.

Massacre.

That was the only word that could ever describe what befell the great kingdom of Albion.

It all started when the King died, King Balinor. He died just at the end of Midsummer. The bells tolled, signalling the death of their king. All flags at half mast, beginning the week long mourning period. After that period, a coronation would take place, which would signal the crowning of the King-to-be, Prince Emrys.

Prince Emrys, known as Merlin to his family and closest friends, was well loved by his people. There is no comparing the pride that the people exuded when they spoke of him. Sad as they were when Kink Balinor died, the people couldn't wait for Prince Emrys to take up the crown.

But, on the day of the coronation it all went terribly wrong.

Years ago, the High Priestess Nimueh left Albion and was never seen again. They say that she had fallen from the ways of the Old Religion and was unfit to be a Priestess. They say that King Balinor had banished her on the grounds of High Treason because she tried to kidnap Prince Emrys when he was a baby.

The sayings are true. She _had _tried to kidnap Prince Emrys but no one knew why, only guessed that she had tried to kidnap him for his power. Even as a baby Prince Emrys' magical power was great- special, they called it, one of a kind. And so Nimueh craved that power for her own- _why_, no one knew, as she was powerful in her own right, only that she craved it.

For years after she was banished she hadn't given up on claiming Prince Emrys' power. But every single plan of hers was always thwarted. And one day, the attempts stopped and everyone thought that she had given up, but no, she was only waiting for the right time to strike, gathering followers as time went by.

No one realised.

No one knew.

But they _were_ taken by surprise for, on the day of Prince Emrys' coronation, Albion was attacked.

With every one's attention focused on their Prince's coronation, there was no one to stop her army from marching toward the citadel. All patrols were called back as per tradition. All guards were allowed to leave their posts for that one night, to witness the Prince's coronation and to take part in the celebrations.

It was then, that she struck.

Her army marched forward, unchecked through the kingdom. Without trouble she reached the capitol. The people were the first to see them, a great army that cut down any in their path. An army of creatures that could have only been summoned from the deepest pits of Death itself. An army, that soon overwhelmed the city below the citadel.

The knights of Albion rallied together and made a stand at the gates of the Citadel. But nothing would have made them ready for the sight that they saw. Not one of them would have ever_ wanted _to face such creatures in combat. But they would fight. For their Prince. For their homes. And fight they did. Sparks of Magic illuminated the sky; the clash of metal against metal filled the air, as did the stench of blood. But the Nimueh's creatures did not seem to die, for when one was cut down another would rise in its place and soon Albion's knights where exhausted and their numbers depleting.

Then their Prince's voice spoke to them in their minds.

'_Retreat, brave knights! I will give you time to escape. Go! Now!'_

As soon as the last word was spoken a bright light engulfed the capitol city, blinding everyone belonging to Nimueh's army.

'_I will call upon you soon. I beg you, remain in hiding till then.'_

The brave knights of Albion obeyed and retreated.

Nimueh rose victorious.

Once the citadel was secure Nimueh walked up to the Throne and picked up the crown that lay abandoned on the ground.

Nimueh smirked, _'This isn't over for you Emrys! This is just the beginning.' _She sent that thought out to Prince Emrys as she stooped down to pick up the crown, transforming it into a circlet before placing it on her head. As one, her army knelt, recognising Nimueh as their Queen.

"Long live the Queen!" They said as one, knowing that it was what she expected.

Far away, on a cliff overlooking Albion, a lone figure stood, his cape billowing in the wind. Tears ran down his pale cheeks as he witnessed the destruction of his kingdom. He watched as his knights retreated, using his magic to bring up a view of the citadel from where he stood. He saw Nimueh crown herself. He heard the words that she forced into his mind. He heard the words _'Long live the Queen!'_ ring out through the citadel.

Too much.

It was all too much.

He crashed to his knees, his fury and grief coursing through him but unable to do anything with it.

_'I'm sorry Father. I failed you.'_

"Sire?" whispered a voice behind him. "We must leave, quickly."

Prince Emrys' mind barely registered the voice. Then he recognised it, it was the voice of the king's champion, Lancelot.

Emrys nodded once and rose. Turned around and started following Lancelot, before he paused and glanced back. Looking once more at his kingdom, he whispered vehemently into the wind, "I _will _be back." before following Lancelot again, this time at a run.

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_**A/N: **_Please do tell me what you think! It would make my day!


	2. Chapter 2

_He could see his people all around him, looking at him with so much betrayal in their eyes. They started closing in on him, finally stopping a few feet from him. He looked around; they were standing in a circle around him. His own people, their faces portraying anger, betrayal, despair and hopelessness._

_"_How could you, Sire? How could you abandon us?"_ They wailed as one. He shook his head and desperately tried to say something, anything, but found out that he couldn't. He turned, scanning the crowd for at least one friendly face, but found none._

_"_You left us, betrayed us all! You call yourself our king, but would a king leave us to a tyrant witch?_" again they wailed._

_"No..." He whispered, finally recovering his voice as he kept shaking his head, trying to deny those accusations._

_But his people paid no heed; it was as if they could not hear him._

_Suddenly the scene shimmered and changed before him: he could now see his people, lying on the street, injured, with fire all around them, licking at their bodies as they laid there helpless. They wailed in pain and misery, calling for him, begging him to help. But again, he could not move. In the distance he could hear children, sobbing, calling for their parents. He watched as his people were killed by Nimueh's army, unable to move, unable to help them. His body started trembling with suppressed anger and despair, anger at himself, for not doing anything, letting his people down, unable to even ease their passing. Despair at having to see his people fall dead before him, to see his city in flames burning down to ruin._

_The scene shifted, he was in the Crypt, looking at his father's sarcophagus._

"Son, how could you? This was not what I taught you, a ruler does not abandon  
his people! You disappointed me."_ His father's voice, echoing throughout the crypt, was tainted with disappointment and despair. However, before Merlin was able to say anything, the scene shifted._

_He was high above the city, on one of the castle's ramparts; below him was a sea of fire with waves of smoke. That rose to tidal height, only to try and suffocate him where he stood. He looked up to the blood coloured sky only to see dark smoke rising up to meet the sky._

_He heard a laugh behind him. He turned around, and immediately recognized the Witch. He tried to lunge towards her, do something to her, anything, to make her pay for what she did to his people, but he couldn't, seemingly stuck to the ground._

_Again she laughed, the sound bordering into insanity._

"Well, Prince_." She sneered at him, spitting out his title like she was insulting him. _"Welcome! Welcome to my Kingdom!_" She started laughing maniacally._

_Merlin was shaking his head, whispering, _"No...it _can't_ be!"_ Nimueh was still laughing in the background and he couldn't stand the sound, so he brought his hand to his ears; but it wasn't enough. He could still hear her. And his head was still shaking in denial. He was still whispering the word "no", over and over again, as if this could not be happening. Soon he collapsed out of grief, and with his body on one side, he curled into a foetal position. His body was shaking, sobs threatening to break out._

_"...No..." Nimueh's laughter was fading away, with another voice now slowly becoming louder._

_"...Sire..."_

_"...No..."_

_"Sire...please...you...must..."_

_"...No..." He was still curled up in the foetal position, his sobs now finally braking through._

_"... Merlin...wake up...You must wake up!"_

_Merlin was still sobbing, his mind playing back what happened over and over again. "No..."_

_"Wake up Merlin! Wake up!"  
_  
"NO!" Merlin woke up, gasping, drenched in sweat, even though it was not a hot night. Tears streaked his face, his hair wet and sticking up in all directions. His hands clenched his cover so hard that they were white. Slowly, very slowly he unclenched them, still breathing hard and hissing in pain as the muscles loosened.

"Here Sire," suddenly there was a cloth being offered to him.

Merlin jumped upon hearing the voice. Then relaxed, recognising Lancelot. He nodded his thanks, not trusting his voice to say anything, and accepted the cloth, using it to wipe his face with it.

"Are you alright Sire?" asked Lancelot with a worried tone, crouching at Merlin's side.

Merlin was quiet for a few moments, not knowing what to say. Then he sighed,  
and nodded solemnly.

"I'll be alright." he said, a small smile of reassurance gracing his face. "Have I woken you up?"

Lancelot shook his head. "I was awake anyway. You should go to sleep, Sire, I'll keep watch."

"No, I probably won't be able to sleep now. But you can try to get some sleep, I'll keep watch."

"But, Sire-" whatever Lancelot was about to say was lost as he yawned and promptly looked sheepish.

"Lancelot, you certainly look sleepy enough." said Merlin, smirking. "Sleep, the sun will be rising soon enough, we'll need all the rest we can get."

Lancelot looked as if he still wanted to argue, but Merlin cut him off.  
"Sleep! It's an order." his voice commanding this time.

Lancelot nodded, and lay down, under a tree, promptly falling asleep.

Merlin sighed as he got up and stretched. He gathered some fire wood, and placed them on the ground a few feet from Lancelot. He muttered a spell to light the fire as he sat down near it, to warm himself after that nightmare. He looked up, to the stars; it was a clear night with not a cloud in sight. One more sigh escaped him as he laid back, the events of the previous day coming back to him.

**FLASHBACK**

_They ran, as fast as they could, leaving Albion behind them. Lancelot was ahead of Merlin, leading the way. Although, right now, they were not going in any direction, they just wanted to get away. They'd stopped, once their energy had depleted -magical energy as well, since Merlin was using a spell to mask their trail- and even so, Lancelot had made sure that no one followed. Merlin now sat cross-legged on the ground, seemingly meditating._

_He opened his mind, searching for any searchers _-"and isn't that ironic",_ he thought- of Nimueh's army. Finally finding none, he explored further. He went back to his castle, to find out what was going on. What he saw made his blood run cold: Nimueh was on the throne, her minions occupying the place his guards once had. Already the place seemed darker, more evil._

_Nimueh was issuing orders to a messenger; she wanted to summon the Nobles of Albion. She wanted them to swear fealty to her and if they didn't, they would be disposed off._

_Suddenly, Nimueh looked directly at Merlin, as if she knew that he was there and smirked, mouthing the word 'welcome' as she did so._

_Merlin felt as if he was pushed out of his castle. He was vaulted out, travelling downwards to the town. He saw ruins. His people were trying to put out the fires, they looked miserable. He saw his Army being cremated by weeping family and friends. The smoke of the fires rose to the sky, creating a black blanket over them, which only served to worsen the despair. The visible parts of the sky were not like usual: from tranquil blue, they had turned into a fiery red, reflected from the flames below._

"Our so called _Prince _has deserted us! He left us to fend for ourselves against the Witch!"_ One man was saying to another. Merlin felt as if he was stabbed in his heart by a million blades. _

"_No!_ He has not! I'm sure that our prince has a good reason to leave us! He will return! I'm sure of it! This is _Merlin_ we're talking about. He doesn't care about ranks, he cares about each and _every_ one of us. Remember all the times he has helped us! _Remember_ them and do not forget them! Merlin has never forsaken us before and he _will not_ do so now! I'm sure of it! He must be looking over us right now to see what has become of his people."_ said another to the pessimist._

_Immediately Merlin felt warmth flow through his body. He wanted to show his people that he wa_s _there, watching over them; but he could not. If Nimueh found out, the consequences would be terrible and his people would suffer even more._

_Merlin opened his eyes just in time to see Lancelot return._

"Is it safe?"_ Merlin asked._

"It is sire." _Said Lancelot with a nod._

"Good, then we shall rest here for the night and make plans on where to go from here tomorrow." _Merlin got up, and started to draw a circle around their camp, chanting a spell as he did so. _"It will keep us safe." _He said with a reassuring smile. "_Goodnight Lancelot."

"Good night, sire." _Lancelot smiled back._

_And with that they both found their respective sleep spots, and they slept and they dreamt. _

**END OF FLASHBACK**

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**A/N: **And end of chapter! what do you think?

I just realised that FF resed and that i've had everything reset *Glares at FF* How lame is that? I'm so sorry if u've wanted to PM me and couldnt, its enabled now so it should be fine!:D And to any anonomus reviewers i _do_ accept them its just that i've had it disabled with out realising it...so sorry about that!

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! and thanks to my amazing Beta Weihna!

Please revied, they're like candy to my eyes!:D

~Alexandra


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N**_**: **So sorry about how long I took to post this! My computer broke down and I spent AGES trying to fix it...then I had this MASSIVE writer's block so I was stumped on how to write this chapter, frankly I'm not too happy with it. I'm going to take up bits and parts of the ideas of each episode and add them in my plot. You wont be getting whole episodes just may be a few parts, and of course this is** NOT a Slash **and will focus on Merlin and Arthur's friendship through the series and my own take of the prophesy...just wanted to make that clear, i know all this is supposed to some out in the first chapter, but u could say that I'm a tad bit disorganised xD. Hope you enjoy this and please read and review!

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The sun rose gracefully above the tree tops, the day getting hotter and the forest was silent. Usually brimming with life, bird calls and animal calls would echo through the forest, but now there was nothing, not even the wind blew through the leaves. The Forest seemed dead.

Suddenly a loud crack echoed through the forest, the leaves rustling in its wake, not through wind but something else, something unnatural. All of a sudden two men stumble through the thick shrubbery of the forest, behind them, a great big monstrous creature with the head of an eagle and body of a lion. They ran their breath coming in short pants, one of the men tried to attack it with a sword to no avail, the sword shattered into two. The beast in anger clawed at them, leaving one of the men injured and the other helping his injured friend to safety.

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"Lancelot!" cried Merlin, praying that it was not a mortal wound.

"Don't…_ah_…worry Sire…I'll live." forced out Lancelot with a pained voice.

Leaving Lancelot leaning against a log on the ground, Merlin turned and faced the beast, thinking that it was enough and it had gone too turned towards the beast, his magic at his finger tips. His eyes glowed golden as he _looked_ into the creature's eyes. He pushed the thought that it was in no danger. Time passed, what felt like hours were only minutes, he soothed the beast. Slowly it backed off, bowing its head slightly in submission as it backed off returning from the place it came from. He was taught from a young age that he had the power to look into any creature's mind, as long as they were magical, this was an innate ability that was unique to the royal family of Albion.

Merlin turned, suddenly remembering that Lancelot was injured.

"Are you bleeding?" asked a concerned Merlin.

"I… don't think so, the beast…just knocked the wind out of me… other than a few bruises… I think I should be fine."

Merlin nodded, relieved that Lancelot would be fine. "Can you stand?"

Lancelot tried to get up, but as soon as stood he hissed in pain and sat back down.

"I think… I might have broken… something"

Merlin's eyes widened at that, his eyes roamed Lancelot's body for any sign of injury. His leg was broken with the bone breaking through skin, his blood was soaking through his pant material. "We must get you to a healer, quickly!"

"Ho there! Is any thing wrong?" some one called out from behind him.

Merlin jumped, not having heard any one come up from behind him. The man he saw was a little shorter than Merlin and more muscled than Merlin's lean figure. He has blond hair and as the man stepped closer he noticed that his clothes fit him well, Merlin figured that the man was some sort of Noble.

"My friend, he's hurt, I need to get him to a physician, but I do not know if there is one close by."

The man frowned. "How did it happen?" he asked as he signalled his men to come out of hiding amongst the trees.

Merlin hesitated wondering whether he should tell the truth. He knew about the Pendragons and their hatred of Magic and he did not want to get caught up in that.

"We were riding in the forest when a snake spooked his horse, he was thrown off but he seemed to have broken one of his bones while he fell. Luckily I was able to jump off my horse before it was spooked, unfortunately the horses ran off and we have no way of making it to a physician on time."

The man looked at Merlin,with a calculating look on his face, wondering how much of the story was true. He glanced at Lancelot, believing that the man was in real pain he ordered his men to help Lancelot to their camp.

"We're on a hunting expedition, about a day's ride from Camelot. Our camp is not that far from here." With that he turned, expecting Merlin to follow. Merlin raised his eyebrow at that _'Arrogant prat.' _

"I'm Prince Arthur of Camelot, by the way." Merlin's jaw nearly dropped at that.

"Pleased to meet you _sire_, I'm Merlin."

_ Prince_ Arthur just nodded and kept soon reached the encampment. It was in a little clearing five well made but simple double tents and one tent well made but not so simple single tent, that was obviously the Prince's tent. _Prince_ Arthur went directly into his tent leaving Merlin outside wondering what to do.

Merlin wandered around the camp wondering what to do, he had _no _wish what so ever to see _Prince _Arthur again. He searched the tents wondering where Lancelot was. He finally found him lying down fast asleep in one of the tents with one of Arthur's men sitting next to him.

"He fell unconscious soon after he lay down." said the man as soon as Merlin entered.

"Will he be alright?" asked Merlin concern lacing his words.

"If the wound doesn't get infected then he should."

"We must get him to a physician soon."

"Yes we must, I'm Leon, Prince Arthur's Knight commander, I wish we had met in a more pleasant situation."

"I'm Merlin." said Merlin as he nodded in agreement.

"I have to go speak with the Prince, would you mind watching over Lancelot?"

"No I don't mind." said Merlin with a smile.

Merlin made himself comfortable in the tent. He stared outside, his gaze wondering, soon enough he lost himself staring into space thinking of what they should do from now, where they should go.

_Albion..._

Merlin sighed, He knew that he would need help getting it back_, _without an army he had no hope of getting it back. He could not keep _running _away he needed to stand and fight, but _who_ can he turn to? He had no allies, all of Albion's allies would have been bought by _Nimueh_. He couldn't stand sitting here, while who knows what was happening to his people back in Albion and he surely could not check on them because he was sitting right in the middle of a camp of the most magic hating

_Father..._

He missed his father now more than ever, if he was here he'd be able to guide them. He_ still _grieved for him but he could not change the father had once told him that at the end of the Great Purge, Uther had tricked the great dragon into coming to Camelot under a pretense of signing a Treaty of peace with the dragon as witness. Instead, Uther imprisoned it in a great cavern under Camelot where he left it to rot. He thought he could perhaps ask the dragon for help.

He was left to his own devices for most of that day. Every few hours Leon would come and check up on Lancelot and Merlin would ask him a few questions and start up a conversation. Merlin would step outside the tent a few times, bored of sitting and doing nothing, or to scape the thoughts that plagued him whenever he had nothing to do. Most of the men would ask him a few polite questions, for courtesy sake, but other than that he was ignored.

Lancelot finally woke in time for dinner. Merin was relieved that he finally woke up. He gave him something to eat while he told Lancelot who these men were. Lancelot laughed, albeit weakly, when Merlin told him about his encounter with Arthur, Merlin still calls him an arrogant prat. Soon enough, Lancelot fell asleep. Merlin lay down next to him, and promptly fell asleep as well. His sleep was not peaceful however. It was invaded with nightmares of his people suffering and his kingdom burning, the very same nightmare he had the previous night. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep peacefully.

He started awake, in the middle of the night, panting and sweating. He left the tent in a daze needing to get some fresh air, the nightmare _refusing_ to leave his mind. He stumbled into the forest, letting the cool night air seep through his bones. Minutes seemed like hours as he stared into space. Eventually he decided that he had to return to the camp. He walked back slowly taking in the openness of the world around, thinking may be he should sleep under the stars instead of inside the closed tent. When he reached the tent however, he saw that he was not the only one having problems. Lancelot was sweating profusel , when Merlin touched his foreead, he was raging hot with a feaver. Merlin immediately checked his wound, removing the bandages with haste but not too quickly that hi would damage the wound further. He drew in a sharp breath when he saw the state of the wound. Puss and blood was leaking through the wound sluggishly, the skin around it tinged green. The wound was infected.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** _Please don't kill me or torture me! I didn't mean to leave the fic alone for a good 2 years! It's just that I had just shifted schools and was trying to get used to a new curriculum and to top it of last year sucked bad... Any one there thinking of shifting to a new curriculum (from an easy one to a tough one) in your 11th year...DON'T! Its a bloody pain that what it is!_

_Well seeing as I haven't updated in a LONG time I tried to make this chapter long and good- no cliffhangers! xD_

_Thanks to my readers and reviwers who haven't given up and to the lovely ischiri who's a dear friend in RL and who betaed this chapter! _

_Enjoy! And please Review! (Even if it's just to rant about how long I've taken. At least I can look back at them and make sure I down keep this wide a gap between chapters- _ever._)_

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"_Turhhæle dolgbenn!"_Merlin whispered forcefully. His eyes flashed gold as he drew from the magic within him, willing the infection to leave Lancelot's wound. But nothing happened. The wound remained the same, with Lancelot's fever worsening steadily.

He tried again. And again.

_Something's wrong_, his instinct told him, _something's drastically wrong_.

Merlin's used this spell before, _numerous _times before, and never has it failed him since the very first time he used it successfully. But why wasn't it working now?

"No-_no!_" Merlin thought frantically, _"_This can't be happening!"

Infected wounds were hard enough to heal without magic, more so now that they were in the middle of a forest!

"_Leon!" _his mind shouted at him, "_Get Leon!"_

Merlin rushed out of the tent. A gush of chilly air blew through the camp as Merlin stumbled into Leon's tent.

"Leon! Please, you have to wake up!_" _said Merlin as he shook Leon awake.

"Mer-_Merlin? _What-", said Leon blearily, blinking as he tried to make Merlin out in the darkness.

"No time! It's Lancelot… his wound's infected!"

"_What?" That _certainly woke him up.

"Tell me you have something for it! _Anything!" _Merlin was almost shouting in his desperation to see his companion survive.

"We've got no supplies to battle infection here and none of us have the skills to do so either. If we do anything to help him we might even end up harming him-"

"Then we leave for Camelot at dawn."

Both Merlin and Leon jumped, startled. Because suddenly outside the tent- complete with crossed arms, a flat expression on his face and his shirt worn inside out- stood Prince Arthur.

'_Huh. He really doesn't know how to dress himself- and I thought they were just rumours!' _thought Merlin ruefully as he took in the upturned, half–tucked-into-his-trousers shirt that Arthur wore.

"Sire!" exclaimed Leon.

"All that ruckus you were making woke me up", grumbled the Prince, then added, "Now, _if _you don't mind… I'm going back to sleep", before striding back into his tent.

Leon sighed looking apologetic at Merlin as he said, "He's a bit grumpy when he wakes up."

"Really? I hadn't noticed" said Merlin, deadpanned.

"Well, then. That settles it. Get some sleep, Merlin. We'll have to wake up in a few hours."

"But-"

"Don't worry about Lancelot. If the infection just set in then we're sure to have a few days before anything becomes serious", said Leon with a reassuring smile on his face.

"Thanks. I'm sorry for waking you. Good night."

And with that, Merlin slowly walked out of the tent wishing he could have done something more.

* * *

True to Arthur's word, they were on their way to Camelot at dawn. With Lancelot's condition showing no signs of improvement, they successfully tried to make it back to Camelot twice as fast. They made haste through the city, galloping through the courtyard before pulling to a stop at the flight of stairs before the front gates.

"Get Lancelot to Gaius, _immediately__!_" commanded Arthur to two of his knights and to Merlin he said, "Gaius is our physician. I have to report to my Father now, so I'll join you there later."

Merlin nodded his thanks and hurried after the knights as they sped towards the physician's chambers.

* * *

Lancelot was sleeping peacefully by the time Arthur entered the room. Merlin was sleeping on another cot beside Lancelot's. Gaius was bustling around the room sorting out his potions and stock of herbs but stopped to look up when Arthur entered.

"Ah, come to check on your guests, have you?" asked Gaius with a smile.

"Well, yes- but I was expecting Merlin to be awake", replied Arthur, with a frown.

"Merlin fell asleep almost as soon as I treated Lancelot's wound. And I'm not surprised either. With how exhausted he looks, it seems like he hasn't been getting a full night's sleep for a while now. "

Arthur sighed. He had been hoping to find out at least who exactly this _Merlin _character was.

"Send for me the moment Merlin wakes", he requested Gaius before turning to walk out.

* * *

Merlin awoke a few hours later feeling much better than before. He sat up for a moment having no idea where he was- and looked around sharply.

"Finally awake, I see?" asked Gaius when Merlin sat up.

Merlin's head snapped towards Gaius.

"Where-?" Merlin trailed off, looking around the chamber and taking in his surroundings.

"Don't you remember, boy? You're in Camelot. I'm the physician whose bed you decided to fall asleep in", chided Gaius with a raised eyebrow as a look of realisation dawned on Merlin's face. The exchange was followed by an apology, which Gaius promptly waved off. He then went to send for the guard, who was stationed outside the door, to tell the Prince that Merlin was awake.

"How long was I asleep?"

"A little more than 4 hours, give or take. Would you mind telling me the reason you are this exhausted? It's unusual for a boy your age to be this run down."

Merlin hesitated a little before spouting out a curt answer.

"Nightmares."

"Ah, I see. I can prescribe you sleeping draughts to help with your sleep should you need it. It is inadvisable for you to lose as much sleep as you are losing."

"No, thank you. Sleeping draughts don't have much of an effect on me for some reason. I will try to get the sleep I need, though. How is Lancelot?"

"He is stable for now, but the fever hasn't yet broken. How did he get injured?"

"He fell off his horse when a snake spooked him."

"I'm sure that's what you told Arthur, but if you want me to heal your friend then you must tell me exactly what happened. You can't fool me into believing that he got that wound by _falling off a horse. _Now, Merlin, tell me. How did he get hurt?"

_Oh, no. There's the dreaded eyebrow again. _Somehow he had a feeling that he would be seeing that eyebrow quite a lot_._

Merlin sighed and gave in. "Fine. Just don't tell Arthur."

He paused in an attempt to collect his thoughts. He was getting a sick feeling that one way or another he would never be able to keep anything from Gaius. Including the fact that he was a Prince on the run.

"Lancelot and I were out hunting in the forest about two days ago-" _Gods,__has it__only been a few days since? _"-when we were attacked by a gryphon. We were caught unawares because weren't expecting a _gryphon to_ attack us. We managed to fend it off but Lancelot got wounded by its claws."

_And there goes the eyebrow again…_

"You managed to_'fend it off'?"_ asked Gaius disbelievingly, "You expect me to believe that you managed to 'fend off' a creature of _magic-" _Gaius's voice lowered at that to make sure no one overheard what was being said "-with a _sword?_"

"Well-" Merlin tried to get a word in edgewise but failed completely.

"Now, I would have thought that you'd care enough for your friend to tell me the truth of the matter but I have apparently misjudged the situation."

"What? No, wait! I _am _telling the truth!"

Gaius' eyebrow spoke _volumes_.

Merlin sighed in exasperation.

"What do you want me to say?"

"The truth."

"Well, that is one thing I cannot do. You have to believe me when I say that there _was _a gryphon in the forest and that Lancelot _was _wounded by it. Now I would like it if you would kindly tell me of my friend's condition."

"His wound's been infected. I've done what I can to lessen the fever but…" he trailed off not knowing how to continue.

Merlin's eyes widened as he expected the worst but he wasn't able to demand more information as the door opened, announcing the arrival of Prince Arthur. Gaius' expression gave nothing away as Prince Arthur addressed him.

"Ah, Gaius! How do my guests fare so far?"

"I'm standing right here", said Merlin, annoyed.

"Well, yes, Merlin_. _I'm not blind" scoffed Arthur. "But _you're_hardly going to give me a straight answer, are you?"

Merlin shook his head in disbelief. Never in a million years would he have imagined the Prince of Camelot to be such a pompous_brat. _And he wasn't about to hide his feelings on the matter either. He had had enough of his arrogance. He opened his mouth to say exactly what he thought of the Prince…

… Only to hold his tongue when he saw Gaius' look of utter disapproval at the anger Merlin was sure could be seen clearly on his face. He never could keep his face neutral.

"Merlin is fine, sire, if not exhausted. Nothing a few days' rest won't cure."

"And Lancelot?"

"As I was telling Merlin as you entered, sire, Lancelot's wound is infected, but it won't take much effort for me to cure him."

"Good." He then turned to address Merlin and was slightly taken aback by the death glare that the young man was directing at him. Still, Arthur being completely oblivious to his recent behaviour, and simply went on to tell him that he was expected in the Throne room and that Arthur was to escort him there once Merlin was decent enough to meet with the King.

"If by 'decent', you mean after a bath and a change of attire, I'm afraid that's not possible. I haven't got anything but the clothes off my back."

Arthur brows furrowed in confusion but did not prod further, for which Merlin was grateful. He was still not sure of how to reveal who he was to Arthur.

Well, by 'reveal', he meant telling him his cover story.

"Then those will have to do for now. I'll see if I can find any servants who can get you a fresh set of clothes."

"Thank you", said Merlin, who was slightly surprised by Arthur's thoughtfulness.

A few moments later, with Merlin's face and hands as clean as possible from washing from a bowl, they were on their way to the Throne room.

"You know you still haven't told me who you are, or where you hail from", Arthur remarked.

"You'll have to wait, then. I'm sure the king would like to know that too and I have no wish to repeat my story twice."

"Very well."

The walk to the Throne room was short, being relatively close to Gaius' chambers. Arthur motioned for Merlin, who was amazed by how less lively Camelot's Court was compared to the Court of Albion, to follow him in. Merlin was struck by a wave of grief as he remembered his court. In contrast with Camelot's, _his _court was almost always filled with people either bringing gifts for their King and Prince- or telling them of their problems, which were dealt with quite efficiently. Albion's people certainly had nothing to fear of their rulers.

He was wondering why the courtroom was near deserted when he noticed that Uther was holding court. Watching the poor man tremble in front of the King, Merlin finally understood. The people _feared_ Uther. And that gave Merlin something else to ponder on. _Why _did the people fear him?

From what Merlin heard from the case unravelling in front of him, the problem was resolved swiftly and with justice. Uther informed the man in front of him that he would send someone to help him with his problem- something about wolves attacking his livestock.

'_Well, I'll probably find out sooner or later', _Merlin figured.

Once the man had babbled out his gratitude, bowed and then left the Courtroom, Arthur walked up to his father and bowed his in respect.

"Sire," He looked towards Merlin and motioned him forward.

Uther gave Merlin a look-over, his expression completely neutral. Merlin bowed respectfully before the King, his expression in turn giving nothing away.

"Ah, Arthur, is this the man you encountered in the woods?"

"Yes, sire."

Uther then smiled slightly, which Merlin took as an invitation to step forward.

"I am Sir Merlin of Albion, Your Majesty."

Uther and Arthur's face clouded at the revelation and Merlin hurried to continue.

"I realise that our kingdoms are not on the friendliest of terms and I have no wish to make things worse", Merlin reassured them and watched in relief as their faces lost some of their anger.

"Sir Lancelot and I were only passing through Camelot when he got injured. This forced us to seek help from Prince Arthur and his party."

"May I enquire as to why you were passing through?" questioned Uther, his face once again a mask of indifference.

Merlin knew he had to tell them or risk being imprisoned… or worse still, be forced to return to Albion. He wasn't ready for that. Not yet.

"I'm not certain if you have heard, but Albion has been taken over by a Priestess of the Old religion who had been banished years ago, the Priestess Nimueh."

Uther's eyes widened as if he recognised that name but said nothing. "It was the day of my… uh, the Prince's coronation when the witch attacked out of nowhere and overwhelmed our army. The Prince's bodyguard took the Prince and fled. The rest of us managed to find out that _Nimueh", _Merlin spat out "had crowned herself Queen."

Merlin then took a breath to calm himself down as he watched Uther and Arthur's reaction. Seeing nothing that warned him to stop, he continued speaking.

"Please, sire, I have no reason lie. I only wish for my companion to recover before continuing our journey."

Uther sighed heavily.

"This is the reason why I outlawed magic- its very existence is pure evil and it will not stop until we all perish", Uther said gravely, before adding in a lighter tone. "There is no necessity for you to leave Camelot. You and your companion are welcome to stay. As I have just said, magic is outlawed here, so should you see anything… suspicious, do not hesitate to report it to Arthur immediately. Now, I'm sure you are tired. I will have Arthur prepare a guest room for you and one for your companion once he is well."

"Thank you, Sire."

Merlin took Uther's parting words as his dismissal. He bowed to the king and left the throne room.

Once Merlin had left, Uther turned to Arthur.

"I want you to keep a close eye on the two of them, Arthur. I'm certain you already know this but magic was revered in Albion under the king- well, _former_king. He made sure to cultivate in his knights, at the very least, rudimentary skills in magic if they happened to show potential. If, on the other hand, these two show no aptitude towards it, use whatever knowledge they _do_ know so that we may better strike at the heart of Magic."

"As you wish, Father."

Arthur bowed before turning and leaving.

Meanwhile, Merlin hurried towards Gaius's chambers. Gaius' expression before Arthur had entered startled him. Surely there couldn't be anything wrong? Wounds inflicted by gryphons aren't known to be poisonous. '_Unless…'_Merlin's eyes widened at the thought.

'_No!'_

He pushed open the door forcefully and spotted Gaius bent over a potion that was brewing in a hand-sized iron cauldron.

"_Gaius! _Tell me that Lancelot's wound wasn't pois-" Merlin's cry broke off when Gaius looked up with a spell dying on his lips. Merlin swore that his eyes glowed gold.

Gaius' eyes widened in shock and fear as a plethora of emotions passed through his face, before eventually settling on resignation.

"You're a-"

Gaius sighed, seeing no way out but to come clean.

"Yes, I am. And it would be best if you didn't tell anyone-"

"No! Gods no! I would _never_-"

Merlin looked shocked at the prospect, which in turn perplexed Gaius.

"We're going to have to talk, but it will have to be after I put together a cure for your companion."

Gaius said as he returned to creating a cure.

"So, it _is _poisoned. _She had no right!" _Merlin muttered under his breath, his eyes ablaze with fury.

"She?" Gaius inquired.

"_Nimueh", _Merlin spat out. He was never going to be able to say her name without feeling waves of grief and fury wash over him.

Gaius' eyes widened in recognition but only said,

"This will help me make the cure faster as I am familiar with her magic. Thank you, Merlin."

"You _know-"_

"Not now, please. We will talk, but I have to see to Lancelot first."

Merlin nodded. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Short of making this potion more…_potent…_no, Merlin, there is nothing. And this is the last potion I can make as I am running short of supplies, so please don't startle me again and make me lose my concentration. I'm sure you wouldn't want your companionto break out in warts…or worse."

"_Gwared a mae'r hud geir ac yn iacháu anaf!" _intoned Gaius, his eyes glowing gold as his magic flowed out- the potion started bubbling in its container.

"There. It's done. Now, I'll just-"

Saying this, Gaius turned towards the table next to him and 'accidentally' toppled the cauldron. Before Merlin realized what he was doing, he pushed his magic out and caught the cauldron before it fell. In an instant it was back on the table, the potion safe within its cauldron.

He winced, realising what he had done. Merlin had acted on pure instinct- his subconscious desire to save the only potion Gaius could make for Lancelot with the last of his supplies from spilling on the floor had compelled him to reveal his magic, even though he certainly did not want to. Merlin sighed before looking up, resigned to the fact that Gaius now knew about his magic. He _really _needed to remember to be more careful.

Gaius was looking at him with a smug expression on his face,

"Hmmm. I thought so. You needn't worry, Merlin. Your secret is safe with me. I have no wish in handing in a fellow sorcerer, especially one with your skill. Now, let me just finish up and then we'll talk."

Merlin nodded and stood aside while Gaius finished up by adding a few final touches to the cure before administering it to Lancelot.

"Lancelot will be fine now, Merlin. The poison should be out of his system by the end of today and he should be waking up within the next few days."

A huge, relieved grin appeared on Merlin's face at Gaius' words. Lancelot would live!

"Thank you, Gaius! We are in your debt; if there is anything that you need-_anything-_don't hesitate to ask it of us."

"Nonsense, Merlin-"

"No, I'm being serious. And I'm certain that Lancelot would feel the same once he wakes up."

Gaius said nothing and only bowed his head in acceptance, a smile gracing his lips. He then looked up, his face growing serious once more.

"There are many things that I have to tell you, Merlin, and most of them about a past that I hoped that I would never have to reveal. But fate has played their hand and I now have no choice… but seeing as Prince Arthur will be back any minute now to show you around the castle and to take you to your room, there is no time. Come to me tonight under the pretence of getting a sleeping potion, or perhaps to check up on Lancelot. We will speak then."

Merlin frowned in confusion. What past? He wanted to know _now_, not later.

"_Later", _said Gaius firmly, knowing that Merlin wanted answers. "I'll tell you everything and answer any questions that you have, but _later._"

And at that moment Merlin could swear that Gaius possessed the Sight because Arthur opened the door almost as soon as Gaius had finished speaking.

"There you are, Merlin! Come on then. It's time for the grand tour of Camelot! Do try and keep up."

With that Arthur turned on his heel and walked off without even waiting for Merlin to catch up.

Merlin's eyes widened in disbelief and looked to Gaius.

"Is he always-" he broke off, unwilling to say ill of Arthur in front of one of his subjects not that he had to because Gaius was smiling at him apologetically and nodding to what Merlin wanted to say.

"Merlin!"

They both winced as they heard Arthur's shout. Merlin thanked Gaius once again before leaving to follow Arthur.

"I'm coming!"

Gaius winced again when he heard Merlin's answering yell and tried to smother a grin when he heard Merlin finish that sentence with a muttered '_Prat!'_

Well, life certainly wasn't going to be monotonous any more with these two around. Gaius looked at a book that was lying inconspicuously on the table. His face grew sad as he thought, '_Has it started?'_

He looked back up to where Merlin and Arthur had gone , Arthur's laughter at something Merlin did echoing through the corridors. He knew that, if the time had indeed come, they both would have rough times ahead of them. He sighed before going back to making his potions and monitoring Lancelot.

_Nothing could stop __Fate's hand when it is in play._

Note: The potion roughly translates to: _Banish the dark magic that is found and heal!_


End file.
